Strike for brick molds



1933- R. F. LESCALLETTE 1,939,012

STRIKE FOR BRICK MOLDS Filed Dec. 24, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l gwuenkoz W F L Mull h Dec. 12, 1933- R. F. LESCALLETTE STRIKE FORQBRICK MOLDS Filed Dec.

24, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwuantoz W E Lwm Wm; HT

Patented Dec. 12, 1933 Richard F. Lescallette,

Beaver Falls, Pa., as-

signor to Armstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, .,Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application December-124, 1931 Serial No. 582,960

- 6 claims. f (01; 25 -164) This invention relates to a brick mold and more particularly to means for leveling the upper surface of the filled mold. It is an object of my invention to provide automatic means, for level- 5 ing ofi theface of thebrick being formed in the mold. It is a further object of my invention to eliminate wastage of the material forming the brick. ll further object of .my invention is to provide leveling meansthat will operate 'efiicient- 10 ly and expeditiously and will aid in producing bricks having asmooth, uniform and straight surface; It. is afurther object of my invention .to provide a strike that may be constructed economically and maybe adjusted for wear without ments. v In order that my-invention may be better understood, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a frontelevation of mystrike having aportion broken away to facilitate the illustration thereof; 1 Figure Figure-3 is a cross section'of theline 3?3 of Figural. e I

As disclosed in the accompanying drawings, the reference numeral;;10 indicates a helical screw conveyor flight. The member 10 maybe 2 i san end elevation of my apparatus;

formed as an integral unit but I prefer to make it in two pieces. In the case of the two part construction, I provide a sleeve 12 with a continuous helical blade 13. The sleeve 12 is secured to the shaft 11 by means of the bolts 14. The sleeve 12 is provided with a plurality of openings which may register with threaded openings in the shaft 11 to receive the bolts 14. I prefer the two-part construction because it makes possible the re- ;tO placement of the sleeve 12 and blade 13 when the blade 13 becomes worn out without necessitating a new shaft 11. The unitary construction is slightly cheaper in initial cost becausethe helical blade may be secured directly to the shaft 11, thus eliminating the necessity of the sleeve 12. However, the saving that can be effected by replacement of new sleeves, more than compensates for the difference in original cost.

The shaft 11 is mounted in bearings 15 and 16. The bearing 15 is adjustable vertically by means of the adjusting screw 1'7 which may be operated by the hand wheel 18. The adjusting screw 17 is provided with a coil spring 19 which normally tends to hold the bearing 15 in its lowermost position consistent with the position of the necessitating any extensive or expensive replaceadjusting screw 17. However, if the blade 13 strikes any unyielding obstruction, the spring 19 will give sufficiently to prevent breaking the blade 13. The bearing 16 is adjustable by means of the adjusting screw 20 and hand wheel 21 similar to members 17 and 18. The adjusting screw 20 is provided with a spring (not shown). similar to spring 19. Y

The bearing 15, adjusting screw 17 and the hand wheel 18 are all mounted on the support 22. As may be seen by reference to Figure 2, the support 22 is shaped like an inverted U. The leg 23 of the support 22 has a screw threaded opening 24 adapted to receive a threaded portion of the adjusting screw 17. The lower end of the sup- .of the nuts 28. The bearing 16, adjusting screw .20 and handwheel21 are mounted on a support 29 similar to the support 22;

The sides and top of the screw conveyor flight 10 are enclosed by the housing 30 which hasits front end curved, as indicated at 31, to facilitate pasasge of filled molds under the strike. The

curved end 31 is only a little higher than the sides of the mold, so that it will tend to smooth down any excessive protuberances if the mold is filled too high with wet clay. The shaft 11 is extended beyond the bearing 16 and has a sprocket 32 mounted on its end. The sprocket 32 is connected to amotor (not shown) and drives the helical night 10. Y

The reference numeral 33 indicates a support which extends under the strike. may comprise a flat stationary table or a movable conveyor of any suitable type. In either event the support is spaced below the strike a distance equal to the height of the mold 34 and its mounting must be sufficiently rigid to maintain the support at the desiredlevel. The distance between the support 33 and the strike may be regulated by adjustment of the height of the support 33 or by means of the adjusting screws 17 and 20. The distance is regulated for one size of brick molds and as the blade 13 wears down the shaft 11 is lowered by means of the adjusting screws 17 and 20 so as to maintain a uniform distance between the strike and the support. When the blade becomes worn too much for further use, the shaft is removed and a sleeve with a new blade is secured thereto. If the size of the molds is changed, the change in distance between the strike and sup- NITED] STATES PAT OFFICE The support 7 2: 2 port may be made by means of the adjusting screws 17 and 20. I

The support 33 is shorter than the strike so as to leave a space between one end of the support and the base member 27 to which the support 29 is attached. A plate '35, is attached to the inner side of thesupport 29 as indicated in Figure 1. This member 35 may be cylindrical or, if the support 33- is stationary, may be secured thereto so as to form a chute 36.

The operation of my new and improved strike for molds may be summarized as follows'fA mold 34 filled slightly over the level of its edges with wet clay 37 is placed on the support 33. and is slowly moved under the strike 10. The distance between the ends of the helical blade 13 and the 7 support 33 is'equal to the height of the mold 34. Accordingly the blade 13 scrapes the excess clay from the top of the mold and carries'it towards the right as seen in Figure 1. The housing 30 prevents thevescape of any of-the wet clay. The excess clay is conveyed by the strike 10 to the chute 36. The excess material is removed from the chute 36 and is reused.

' Although I have described a specific embodiment of my invention it will be'understood that various structural details may be modified Without departing from the. spirit or scope of my invention. Accordingly, I'do not desire to be restricted to the specific details of my description except as limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A 'strike for brick molds which includes a screw conveyor flight mounted in 'o'ppositelydlsposed bearings, an adjusting'screw foreach bearing andresilient means mounted on saidadju'stmg screws adapted to protect said screw conveyor fllghtfflom breakage by reason of contact with unyielding obstructions.

2. A strike for molds comprising a helical blade mounted'for rotation and adapted to remove excess material from a mold and convey the material so removed out of the-path of' the mold,-

means for rotating'the blade and a housing substantially'encl'osing the helical blade except io r the portion thereof adjacent'the mold path,

wherebythe' blade is 'efie'ctivefor operation upon filled molds moving in said path.

3."A' strike for molds which includes a conveyor screw and a housing therefor, a portion of said housing being open to enable the screw therein to strike excess material from a mold, said conveyor screw and housing being adjustably and resiliently mounted at each end to provide protection from breakage by'oontactwith unyielding obstructions.

, 4. A strike for molds comprising a helical blade spanning a path along which molds to be struck ofi are moved and a chute beside said path, a housing for the helical blade, said housing being open at the portion thereof adjacent the mold path and the chute to permit the helical blade to engagewith excess material on molds moved along the mold path, and means for rotating the helical blade in such direction that the blade functions both as a strike and as a conveyor to move the material struck oil? to the chute beside the mold path.

5. A strike for molds comprising a helical blade spanning a path along which moldsto bestruck ofi are moved and a'chute' beside said path; a housing forthehelical blade, said housing-being open at the portion thereof adjacent the-mold path and the chute to permit the'helical blade to engagewith excess materialon molds moved along the mold path, meansfor rotatingthe h'elical blade in such direction-that the'blade'functions' both as a strike and asa-conveyor tomove the material struck ofi-to the chute beside the mold path, and adjustable resilient supports-at each end of the helical blade which supports determine the operating'height of-theblade above the mold path but yield to protect the-bladefr'om breakage upon encounteringan unyielding obstruction.

'6. A strike formolds comprising a rotatable helical blade and a-l'ioiising therefor; saidheli'cal blade being a'daptedto remove excess" material from the top of a filled mold and convey=the removed -materialaway from the mold; a" shaft, means for rotatingtheshaft,- means rer'no'vably securing said helical blade on said-shaft within the housing, and adjustable 'yielding'supports po- 

